10-step guide to the dictionary

Dictionary selection

You can change the dictionary in three, or if your screen resolution is higher than 1,260 pixels, four different places (see Fig. 2). In addition, the available language pairs are shown on the start page of the dictionary before you start using the dictionary .

Search options

Let's take a close look at all search options (from left to right and top to bottom): ­

1. The flags and the languages named in between the flags indicate your chosen dictionary, the green arrows indicate your search direction for which the default is bidirectional (<->). You can change the search direction if you click (near) the arrows: Click once and you will see a right-pointing arrow which means the dictionary will look up a translation of your search term(s) into German, click again and the arrow will point left which means the dictionary is set to offer translations of your search term(s) from German into English or one of our other languages, and a third click should bring up both arrows again which means you are back to the default setting.
2. Here is where you can switch to the forum or trainer pages of the selected language pair. ­
3. If you click one of the little flags above the search field you can switch to a different dictionary and look up the translation for your search term(s) in a different language.
4. When entering your search term(s), you can type everything lowercase, leave out accents and use replacements for umlauts and ligatures  (ä = ae, ß = ss). You can use asterisks as placeholders for prefixes or suffixes (e.g. 'Eingabe*', '*verhalten') and you can also look up inflected forms if you do not know the base form of a word (e.g. 'suchte').
   Simply start typing to enter your new search term(s) in the search field even if the focus is not on the search field and the contents of the search field are not highlighted. The cursor will be placed in the search field as soon as you start typing.
5. The link 'Search in a text' opens a bigger search field where you can look up words in a whole text without having to manually type or copy your search term(s) , see xxx.
6. You can change the order of results and list technical vocabulary before basic vocabulary or vice versa, as well as apply certain search criteria.
7. The link 'Search tips' takes you to a page with a detailed explanation of everything to do with looking up words in LEO.

Structure of the search results page

The page with the results for a search term is split into the following parts (from top to bottom): ­

1. Links to the individual categories (nouns, verbs, etc. ) within the dictionary.
2. Optional: possible base forms for the search term, cf. Step I, Wechsel
3. Search results sorted into categories according to part of speech (nouns, verbs, etc.).
4. Buttons to allow you to post a query in the forums on your search term(s), manage your vocabulary (see Step xxx), or look at your search history.
5. Orthographically similar words to help you if you got a letter wrong and meant to look up a different word. ­
6. Links to forum discussions containing the search term(s) in the title or the discussion itself.
7. Zusätzliche Informationen zum Suchergebnis werden Ihnen angezeigt, wenn Sie mit der Maus über den entsprechenden Eintrag fahren. Dort finden Sie z.B. Angaben zur Grammatik, hilfreiche Diskussionen aus dem Forum oder Beispiele.
   
   

   

Search results

Let's take the results for the word "suchen" in the French dictionary as an example.

1. In principle, each category lists direct matches for the search term(s) first (if available, in this case 'das Suchen'), regardless of whether the word you are looking up is interpreted as an inflected word (the noun 'Suchen' is also the plural of 'die Suche') or an infinitive (verb 'suchen'). All other possible word forms appear further down (in case of the noun: results for 'die Suche', the singular of 'die Suchen').
2. The order in which the results are listed within a category usually depends on how frequently the word is used. Alternatively, the order is alphabetic (this is usually the case for technical entries).
3. The number of direct matches per category has been limited so that entries from all categories can be seen at a glance without it being necessary to scroll too much. Where a search yields a large number of hits in one or more categories, only the most important entries are listed at the top (cf. the explanations in 1 and 2), all following entries may need to be loaded by clicking (at worst repeatedly) 'Show more ... '

Looking up a string of words

1. 

   As well as looking up single words, you can also enter whole phrases or idioms in the search field.
2. In general, the order of categories in the dictionary may change depending on which categories contain the most matches for your phrase.

3. 

   If your phrase contains an inflected word that is different to a word in the LEO entry that best fits your search, you will still get a match. In other words, you can search for a phrase containing the word ließ or lässtbut if LEO actually contains a matching phrase with lassen, the entry will be found via the base form for your words. So if you're not entirely sure about the exact wording of a saying or idiom, LEO will still try to match your search and provide relevant results.

Results: Icons and their functions

•  Durch einen Klick auf dieses Symbol können Sie den entsprechenden Eintrag in Ihrem persönlich Trainer speichern.
  Sollten Sie einen Eintrag bereits in Ihrem Trainer gespeichert haben, erscheint stattdessen das Symbol ­ . Sie können durch einen Klick den Eintrag erneut speichern, er wird dann automatisch in die derzeit dafür von Ihnen ausgewählten Wortschätze einsortiert. Näheres dazu erfahren Sie in der ­Anleitung zu unserem Trainer­ auf Seite 6
•  The info icon gives you access to additional information related to (both sides of) the entry (definitions, etymology, conjugation/declension tables, etc.). For details please see Step xxx.

Die Symbole ­ . ­ beziehungsweise ­ ­ gelten hingegegen immer nur für die Seite, vor der sie stehen: ­

•  Flexionstabelle für Verben, Substantive und Adjektive. Diese werden fortlaufend vervollständigt.
•  Audiowiedergabe für Wörter und Wendungen, die von LEOs Muttersprachlern vertont wurden.
•  Automatisch generierte Aussprache unseres Partners Linguatec.

Sollte in einer Zeile ein oder mehrere Symbole nicht vorhanden sein, stehen die entsprechenden Informationen derzeit nicht zur Verfügung.

Zusatzinformationen

Zusätzlich zur Übersetzung, dem Kontext durch Beispiele und Wendungen und ersten Zusatzinformationen auf der Ergebnisseite können Sie sich durch einen Klick auf das ­ -Symbol noch weitere Informationen rund um einen Eintrag anzeigen lassen.

• In the Chinese dictionary, for example, you can check the stroke order for Chinese characters (click 'Expandierte Strichfolgen' or 'Animierte Strichfolgen' in the additional information menu; the left-hand side of figure 9 shows the stroke order for the first character of the entry). ­
• Apart from links to DWDS (for German definitions) and canoonet (German inflection), the information menu also contains links to LEO's inflection tables (verb tenses, plural forms, etc.). ­

Power search: Look up words in a text

1. Click the link below the search field called Search in a text.
2. Delete the highlighted information by pressing the 'Del' key on your keyboard and paste your text.
3. Click on a word in your text. You will receive a list of possible translations.
4. You can change to the normal search field by clicking the link Search single word and return to Search in a text without loosing any of your previously entered text.

Apps & Tools für Browser

LEO bietet Ihnen nicht nur kostenlose APPs für ­Android.iOS (iPhone / iPad) an, Sie können auch mit Hilfe von ­LION­ unter Windows aus nahezu jeder Anwendung direkt auf die Wörterbücher von LEO zugreifen und eine gewählte Übersetzung schnell in Ihr Dokument einfügen.

Zusätzlich gibt es eine ganze Reihe von Hilfsmitteln für verschiedene Browser, um Wörter und Phrasen auf anderen Internetseiten schnell und einfach in LEOs Wörterbüchern nachzuschlagen.

Sie finden die Zusammenstellung dieser Hilfsmittel über den Punkt Toolbars & Apps.

More than a dictionary - improve your language skills in the forums or with the help of the vocabulary trainer

The LEO dictionaries are complemented by a ­ forum feature as well as a ­ Vocabulary trainer The forums contain a growing number of discussions on a multitude of language-related topics, the vocabulary trainer is a great tool to improve your language skills. You can either collect your own vocabulary or learn wordlists and access language exercises provided by LEO or one of our partners. Separate user guides are available for the forums and vocabulary trainer. To actively participate in the forums or use the vocabulary trainer you need to be logged in (see user guide for ­ "My LEO" ). Registration as well as the use of the forums and vocabulary trainer are free of charge.
Clicking the icons or buttons mentioned below, you may be asked to log in.

• Click the disk icon to add an entry to your personal vocabulary.
• Your search term(s) may also return a list of possibly related forum discussions which can be found at the bottom of the page ­ (see also Step 3) . Where this is not the case and you need help with the translation of a word or phrase, you can start a new discussion in the forums.
• If you wish to allocate your recently saved entries to a specific wordlist, the button below the results table provides quick access to the relevant place in the vocabulary trainer. However, if you want to allocate entries that you have not saved on that day, you will need to go to the vocabulary trainer and click "Edit word lists".